Mold for burial-cases



MOLD PoR BURIAL GASES. No. 275,004.' Patented Apr. 3, 1883.

`NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. WLSON, OF HYDE PARK, ILLINOIS.

Moto FOR BURIAL-CASES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 275,004, dated April 3,1883.

(No model.)

To all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. WILSON, a citizen of the United States'ofAmerica, residing at Hyde Park, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Molds forBurial-Gases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the casting of burial-cases or coffins in anupright position so as to lessen the labor and time required, andobviate the liability of damage attending the turning of the molds andcasket after said casket is completed, as is necessary when the casketis cast in an inverted position.

The objects of ymy invention are to provide the inner surface of thecasket or coffin with corrugations or depressions for the purpose ofreducing the weight without unduly aifecting the strength ofthe casket;also, to provide a core for the outer mold; so constructed and arrangedas to produce the said corrugations or depressions, and at the same timebe capable of being readily'withdrawn when the casket is completed; and,further, to provide the upper edge of the Acasket with pieces or stripsof metal of a peculiar form to hold the lid-fastening screws and to givestrength and stiffness to that part of the casket. i

The invention consists in certain pccularitiesY in the construction,arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the in vention, Figure `1 is aplan view of a mold for molding coffins in an upright position.

Fig. 2`is a cross-sectional view of the same taken on the line xwinFig. 1. Fig?) is a cross sectional view of a coin completed; and Figs.4, 5, and 6 are detail views to be referred to hereinafter.

Similar letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

A A is the mold, which may be constructed of wood, iron, or any'othersuitable material.

B is the base-plate or bottom part oi' `the mold, and should be madesufficiently larger than the casket to admit of the sideand end walls orouter shell of the mold to restupofn it, and it may be provided with`wa'lls or ledges a ct, equal in height to the desired thickness of Vthebottom of the casket, thus forming a gage to regulate the thickness ofthe cement as desired.

spread on the base-plate, as and for the purpose hereinafter more fullyset forth,` or it may be merely a plain surface of the required size.

In casting coffms of this class in an upright position the core or innershell of the mold may be made of suitable material and left in to form apart of the completed casket, or it maybe made to be withdrawn in theusual manner, and may be made in sections, or not, When intended to bewithdrawn there are, however, manyreasons why a core in sections andcollapsible should be preferred. A case so constructed facilitates to agreater degree the process of llling in the cement, is more easily andquickly removed, and it is only by the use of such a core that the innersurface of the core may be provided with corrugations, or withindentures to correspond with projections on the outer surface, whichis` sometimes desirable.

I make the core C in two or more sections s s', die., as shown in Fig.2, the bottom one, s, of which may be a plain-surfaced board or plate,or may have side wall, a a', as shown, and be provided with openings oo, supplied with corresponding pieces, o', for the purpose of removingthe surplus cement from the bottom, should too much be spread thereon,in the manner hereinafter more fully described. The upper sections, s',.&c., have plain boards or plates b for the side walls, and have theirends composed of two pieces, b and h2, hinged at either side to the sidepieces, b, in such a manner that they may be folded back parallel withthe side pieces, I), as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The end pieces,b' b2, are held in position by a bar, b3, secured to one of the partsandiitting over staples c in the other, a pin, p, being used to securethem.

The outer shell, A A, of my mold ll make in a similar manner to thosealready in use, composed of the side pieces, c c', and end pieces, d d,held together at the ends by swinging clamps D, composed of two parts,ce', connected by a coupling, e?, provided with right and left threadsand hinged at one end to one side piece, c', and provided at the otherend with a head, c3, which slips into a slot provided for the purpose onthe outside face of the other side piece.

For supporting the core C in position in the mold, combination pins orscrews may be used,

which go down through ,the bottom of the core and through the cementinto holes provided in the base-plate for them; or these pins or screwsmay go, `through the sides of the core into the side walls of the outershell. 1v however prefer screws made as shown at E, Figs. 2 and 4,composed of two parts,ff, the lower part,f, of which screws into thebaseplate B, and when screwed in to its llimits projects above the saidplate B a distance equal to the thickness of the bottom of the casket tobe made. rihe upper part, j", passes through the bottom ofthe core C andscrews into the lower part,f, which is tapped to receive it, the core Gresting on and being supported by the lower part,f.

My method of casting a burial-case is as follows: I rst spread a thinlayer of cement on the base-plate B, then lay upon that a sheet ot'perforated metal, wire-cloth, or other material intended to strengthen.the coffin-walls. rlhis sheet may be ofthe exact size of the bottom ofthe core, or larger, and turned out at the edges to lap up around theside walls some distance, and so arranged that it will be embeddedwithin lthe walls of the cement when the casket is completed. Anotherlayer of cement is then added sufficient to make the required thicknessofthe bottom of the coffin. The bottom section of the core (or if notmade in sections the whole core) is then placed in position upon thescrews E and fastened, as before described. It' there should be asurplus of cement on the bottom plate, B, the pieces 0 are removed fromthe openings o in the bottom ofthe core (l and the surplus cementallowed to ooze up through said openings as the core is forced down intoits position, after which the surplus cement, if any, is removed and thepieces o replaced. A thin layer of cement having been spread on the sideand end walls of the outer shell, and sheets of per forated metal orequivalent placed upon them, as before described for the bottom,they areset up in position and held in place at the bottom by projections uponthe outer edge of the base-plate, or by double pins, as shown, and areclamped at the end by clamps D by turning the right-andleftthreadcoupling` e?. A space between the outer walls and the core still remainsto be filled, which is done by pouring or tamping in the cement to theheight of the bottom section of the core. The second section is thenplaced on the first and held in position by double pins, or otherwise,at the sides, andthe cement again lled in around it, and so on, if morethan two sections are used. When the last section is placed in positionand cement putin until near the top, a strip or strips of perforatedmetal, wire-cloth, or similar material, in a corrugated form, as shownin Fig. 6,is slipped into the cement until thetop edge comes dush withthe top edge of the completed casket. vIhe pieces of metal a, designedto hold the lid-fastening screws, and provided with projections a', (seeFig. 5,) which serve as anchors to hold them firmly in the cement,

and also serve as guides to secure their coming in the center of thewalls by extending on either side to the shell of the mold, are thenplaced in position at the proper places and cementis lled in until themold is full,the top edges of the core and outer shell being exactly ona line.

If desired,the corrugated metal or wire-cloth may be dispensed with andthe strips a be employed alone. In this case the metallic strips orpieces n, provided with projections, as described, may be made ofsufficient length to go around the whole casket, and thus serve thedouble purpose of providing an attachment for the lid-fastening screws,and also of giving stiffness to the walls of the casket, and so avoidthe use of the corrugated metal or wire-cloth, and at the Same timeprevent any liability to warping or springing of the upper edges of theside walls.

After the cement is set the core is extracted by folding in the ends ofthe collapsible sections, as before described, and removingthem one at atime,the bottom section beingjarred loose and lifted out last, thescrews E in the bottom being first removed. The clamps D are thenloosened and the walls of the outerv shell removed, after which theholes left by the screws E are filled up with cement and the casket iscompleted.

If it is desired to embed askeleton frame of iron and wood strips intothe casket to add further to its strength,a11d to provide for supportfor the screws whichfasten on thehandles, such frame is placed inposition upon the rst layer of cement spread on the base-plate B, thesubsequent proceedings being as described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by vLetters Patent, is-

lUO

1. In a coflin-1nold,a collapsible core having end pieces hinged to theside walls ofthe core, and provided with suitable fastenings,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a collapsible core for coffin-molds, the combination ot' the sidepieces,b b, hinged end pieces, b b2, bars b3, staples c, and pins p,substantially as shown and described.

3. A core forcoftin-molds, having one or more openings,0, formed in itsbottom,and adapted to be closed by corresponding pieces, 'o,substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a coffin cast of cement or other plastic material,theZmetallicpieces or strips a, of any suitable dimensions, and having lateralprojections a' An for the purpose of strengthening the upper part of thecasket and affording an attachment for the 11d-fastening screws,substantially as described.

5. A burial-casket composed of cement or other plastic material, andhaving the inside of its walls corrugated, or formed with one or moredepressions, whereby the weight of the casket is diminished withoutimpairing its strength or affecting its external finish, substantiallyas described.

6. In a mold for burial-caskets, acore having IIO in its bottom oneortxnore openings, whereby the surplus cement or other plastic materialmay be readily removed, substantially as described.

7. In a mold for burialcaskets, the sectional core C, composed of theparts s s s2, having side walls, b b, and end walls, b' b2, providedwith suitable fastenings, the lower section being provided with a bottomhaving longitudinal openings o o, adapted to be closed by oorresponding'strips, o' o', substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination of the outer shell, A, having base-plateB,the coreC,the compound pins'or screws E, composed of the parts ff,

adapted to extend through the bottom of the casket for the purpose ofsupporting the core, and the adjustable end clamps, D, composed ofscrew-threaded rods e e', connected by coup,- lings e2, oneof said rodsbeing hinged to one ofthe side pieces of the mold, and the other adaptedto fit in a slot formed inthe other side, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES E. VILSON.

